Electromechanical apparatus for the automatical dropping of any article



June 24, 1930. LK ET AL. 1,765,897

EL'ECTROMECHANICAL APPARATUS r oR THE AUTOMATICAL'TDROPPING OF ANY ARTICLE Filed Hatch 2a, 1924 7M am Q P Q BQME ZHANEAIQ; sam

i n THE IA'UTQMATIQ moaiamejbr.

r This invention relates "to device's'for drop= ping articles from aircraft of the kind having" electro-magnetical ly released systems of? levers and the main features of the invention remain in positive co11necti0n"and a1?e al-i Q Waysjsolidary so that foryanyzposition of: one

ozfi'lthe same there is onlyonehposition offthe' r other. 1 elements possible, a this arrangement the article.

ensuring the absolute control ofthe relative positions of the elements and preventingany/ possibility of jamming, of? accidental false:

manoeuvres or the 5 like. lZ he1;arran-gement COHIPHSQSL 1 1 '('a)J-'Mechan1sm for hold ng'and releas ng (b) A safety mechanism.

taco.

- c)- v Signalling mechanism;

The apparatus Whi h may be opera-tedfrommia *distance' by means of any electric:

switch'or the like ,is constructed with a gvi'ew I 7 1' To efl'ect automaticlattachment Wither out anyiother manipulation; than raising the" article to the, position in which it 'is1to be held; i

(2) To ensure merits: permanently connecting together those parts which have a large movement; (3) To'reduce to the'minimum the, effort required from the electro-'mechanical device in order todiminish as much as possiblethe Weight-of iron and copperused for the same and further the electric energy necessary for, epemtion'; I 41) To realizea complete security of lo'cle" ihg by a mechanical locking mechanism adapt-5- ed to be operated' from adist ance and mainmining th el mchtsintheclosing pOSitionQ To ensurethepossibility'of gproducing th e ,release by" a. mechanical or jelectro-medesired; v M I p v v (,6) To ensure theinterruption'ofthe circlosinggot the article, I 3:;

cuit of the main electric driving after the An electric interrupter T apparatus ofthis type is shown by way of example on the accompanying drawings; invvhich:

Fig, 1 shows inelevation the mechanism in the position inavhich'it holds the article tobedropped.-

Fig.2is'a planview of Fig-,1; p e v Fig. 18 is a similar View as Fig; l g-the article beingreleased. v M Fig. shows the cam in itsthree' Working ,positi-ons f 5 P The apparatusaccording to the invention comprises essentiallytWo plates liconr ectedgz with one another by the'aXles 2, 3, 4,35 which serve as pivot .aXles' for thexmo vablegfele: ments, and lurther by stops-6 and Z. .A lever I 1 8 havingione hook-shaped end, pli votall-y mounted on the axle. 2; is designed to: grip 'with its'beak 9 into a ring attached to the article to be dropped? Two/connecting rods 12 hingedly fixed ateither side ofthe end :ofthe straight armflof- .the' lever 8 are hingedly connected at their, otherwends' to.

, the cam, lever 13-pivota'lly vmounted on1: axle? 'A releasinglever 14:\Vl1l(3h" carries-the; armature and is 1 pivotally mounted T on? :aXle

, lzbears with itsend 1'5against the 'eamf16 of; the cam lever; 13 holding in this manner Y. r ,1 the -mechanism in -the locking position or secure locking hm-em -From the lower surfaceof lever 14 a bent;-,

arm projects in which a; cam 19 i'selocatd the rotation of Which produces successively;

according to the positionod*itsadvancingf part, first thel ocking of: lever llinithelockring position (position of 'Figi sec 01161 the possibility of electrical release ofth'is lever 14 (position 19' Fig. 5) ,-'third the're-= leasingof the lever l l by a mechani'c'alo-rj electro-mechani'cal drive Without interven tion ofthe coil (position 19Fig. 5);" I i 2O interposed in the circuit ofthe coil-is-Operatedby the elbowlever 21 the" end of which is incone tact the curved head 22 of tl'1e hookshaped lever 8,;thishea'd formingfalcam,

the ar Before v hooking 6 h b e v b dropped the switch for the main drive has "tohehrought'into the open circuit? posi- %tion whereupon the ring 10 is pushed at'2 l against the book of the lever 8. In pushing "vertically from 'below upward the hook of thelever 8 israised, the connecting rods 12 'push the cam lever 13, the cam-shaped'hea'd '25'of whichcomes in contact With the releasing lever 14 and lifts this'lever inputting the spring :23funder-tension, up to the 'moment when the cam-shaped head16 passes beyond' the-end 15 of the l'cver 14 which drops them into the locking position. At a the sameftime', through the intermediary of the e1bowlever-21 the 'injterruptor 20 closes and the brush 26 is in contact WltlI-thGCOIl tact plugs '27 so that'the' circuit of vthesignalling arrangement closes and the signalto 3d.

ling-device ism-operated.

r The releasing is effected in the manner: The switch being closed the cur- 'reiitflows into the coil which attractsthe armature 18 ofthe releasing lever let; this I lever oscillates and itsend 15 releases the cam head 16 of the cam lever 18'. At'this V moment the cam leveri 13,u nder the action of the weight ofthe system of articulated levers and of the loadhooked on-thev lever by the; ring 10, pivots around :its axle 3 so that the systemof articulated levelis is l j stretched out and theringlOiS liberated:

At-the 'sameftime the curved surface '22 'of the hook-shaped lever 8 acts uponthe i 5 elbowflever21' which operates the switch 20,

1 the. brush 26 gets oil the" contact plugs 27.

TheIcircu'it of the coilis interrupted, the

' armature 18 is released and the releasing 8 lever 14 is pulled back by its spring 23 and" returnsto'the'initial position.

-:"= :The above "described arrangements are given by way of example only, as other "forms of 'eonstruction may be're'alized without departing fromthe' principle of the 'inventi'on as 'welli-as regardsthe elements of;-

the' mechanism'as'those of the switch or; the signalling apparatus." The electro-mechani- V cal releasing device which has been described.

' is essentially characterized in that The 'difierent elements, liberated the manipulation'of the releasing lever form an articulated system, the elements of which remain permanently in f connection wherefrom results i the security that the locking, and releasingare carriedout accurately and with precision.

.ing of the articulated system, pass asi nearl'y as necessary alongthe fixed axles of rotation.

following emergency releasin "VVe.claiIn: v, f 3 I a Anelectro-mechanicallapparatus for drop- (2) Theeflort transmitted to the releasing lever in the locking position is reduced to the minimum by the fact thatthelines along which the forces act which cause the releas- (3) At thesame time thearrangement of V the elements of the articulated system is suchthat, in the opening position, the movement of force which causes the'operation of the releasing lever is maximum andpermitsof V the automatical releasing of the ring,=which carries the article a to be dropped, simply by a pressure exertedupon the lever. r V

(4:) The pivot axle 40f thelever 14, which ing the effect to render the releasing effort maximumfor a total stroke oftheend of the releasing lever, in consideration of the'con- V siderable increase-of the attractive force re sulting from the diminution of'the air-gapto the minimum for a given numbenofampere-turns, c .a r j c v (5) The. stroke of-each..movable element; is limited bythe playot the elements or by V V a so carries the'armature, is situated in closest a proximity to the 0011, this arrangement havthe stops of the articulated-system, no ele-V. i

which excludes any possibility of I w wron'g" manoeuvre and ofbad en a ementr I D l (6) The emergency device for moving the mechanism into the holding or releasing position consists'of one-single cam 19, working on two profiles oi the releasing lever-and, I00 7 adapted to bring the mechanism bycany ro ment "being 1 loosely mounted: ,onits" axle tation of convenient amplitude successively into the three characteristic states of workf I ing; locking, electric current releasing,

(7) All the part s ofthelmechanismhave -parallel pivot axles, all the reactions take place in the same plane and there exists no 7 I actlng upon the jointsi-of the axial effort system.

ping articles of any kind from aircraft,- come prislng 1n combinatlon .a hook,: an arm of said hook, two connecting rods hingedly connected; at the lower ends to said arm,an axle fixed at a short distance onthe outer side, of theplane in which said connecting rods are Situated, a cam lever os'cillably mounted on i said and hingedly connected to theupper end of said connecting rods, a releasing;

endof said lever, a curved arm-on the lowervslde'of sald releasing lever, an-arma-' l ture' fixed to the outer en'd'of said releasing; lever, and a coil. of an electro-magnet adapted to attract said armature, and a cam en-l gaging with said curved arm.

v ROBERTALKAN. 1 v

GEORGES LESOURD.

I 126 w lever pivotably mounted on a} stationary axle bearing with its inner end against thenpper 

